What to Do When Someone Dies in Florida: First Steps

If someone has just died, start here. This guide covers the first hours and days for families in Melbourne and Brevard County. Most decisions can wait until you have had some rest and can talk with a funeral director.

If the death was sudden or you are not sure the person has died

Call 911 now and follow the dispatcher’s instructions.

What Do I Do Now? Choose where the death occurred

Where did the death occur?

In a hospital

Hospital staff handle the medical side: a physician or authorized clinician pronounces the death, and the hospital keeps your loved one in its care while the family decides on a funeral home.

You do not have to decide everything tonight. The hospital will ask which funeral home to contact. Ask staff how long they can hold your loved one; policies vary by hospital.
Choose a funeral home and call it. The funeral home arranges the transfer from the hospital. You can call before you have made any other decisions.
If the death followed an accident, injury or other unusual circumstance, Florida law gives the district medical examiner jurisdiction (Fla. Stat. 406.11), and the hospital will notify that office. This can add time before release.
Collect personal items and any paperwork the hospital gives you.

In a hospice facility

Hospice staff are experienced with this and will guide you. A hospice nurse typically confirms the death and notifies the physician.

If a funeral home was already named in the hospice plan, staff usually contact it for you. If not, they will ask which funeral home you want.
You can take time with your loved one before the funeral home arrives. Ask the staff what is possible.
Ask the hospice about its bereavement support. Most hospices offer grief support to families for months afterward.

In a nursing home or assisted living facility

Facility staff will notify the attending physician and the family, and will ask which funeral home to contact.

If you already know the funeral home, tell the staff; the funeral home arranges the transfer.
Ask how long the facility can keep your loved one and when personal belongings need to be collected.
If your loved one was under hospice care in the facility, the hospice team is usually involved as well.

At home, under hospice care

When a death is expected and hospice is involved, the usual first call is to the hospice agency, not 911. The hospice phone number is normally in the care folder or on the medication paperwork.

A hospice nurse typically comes to the home to confirm the death and help with next steps, including disposing of medications.
The nurse or family then calls the funeral home. There is usually no need to rush; you can sit with your loved one first.
If someone called 911 by mistake, that is all right. Tell responders the person was under hospice care and show the hospice paperwork or any Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order.

Unexpectedly at home

Call 911 first. If there is any chance the person is still alive, follow the dispatcher's instructions.

When a death is sudden, unattended by a physician, or caused by an accident or injury, emergency responders and law enforcement usually come to the home. Florida law gives the district medical examiner authority to investigate these deaths (Fla. Stat. 406.11). In Brevard County this is the District 18 Medical Examiner.
Try not to move the person or disturb the area until responders arrive, unless they tell you otherwise.
The medical examiner may take your loved one into its care for examination. Once the office releases them, the funeral home you choose handles the transfer and paperwork.
You can call a funeral home at any point to ask what to expect. They coordinate with the medical examiner routinely.

Outside Florida (or outside the U.S.)

When someone dies away from home, two funeral homes often work together: one where the death occurred, and one near where the funeral or burial will take place.

Call the Melbourne-area funeral home you want to use first. Many can coordinate with a funeral home in the other state, which may avoid paying for two full sets of services.
The receiving funeral home can explain options for bringing your loved one home by air or ground, or for cremation where the death occurred and returning the cremated remains.
If the death was sudden or accidental, the medical examiner or coroner in that state may be involved first.
For a death outside the United States, contact the U.S. Department of State (Overseas Citizens Services) for help with local authorities and paperwork.

Somewhere else, or I am not sure

If the death was sudden or you are unsure whether the person has died, call 911.
If a doctor, hospice or facility is already involved, they will usually guide the next step and ask which funeral home to call.
If you are unsure what to do, you can call a funeral home and ask. Funeral directors answer these questions every day and there is no obligation.

Next steps for every family

Choose a funeral home. It handles transfer, the death certificate filing and permits. In Florida the funeral director who first takes custody files the death certificate (Fla. Stat. 382.008).
Look for written wishes or a prearrangement. Check for a preneed contract, a will, or notes about burial or cremation.
Gather basic information for the death certificate: full legal name, date and place of birth, Social Security number, parents' names, marital status, education, occupation, and military discharge papers (DD-214) for veterans.
Tell close family and decide who will make arrangements. Florida law sets an order of who has authority (spouse first, then adult children, then parents, and so on).
Take your time with the big decisions. Burial or cremation, service type and timing can be discussed at an arrangement meeting, usually within a day or two.

A body must be refrigerated or embalmed if final disposition does not happen within 24 hours (Fla. Stat. 497.386), so the funeral home will take your loved one into its care promptly. That does not mean you must finalize plans that fast.

Open the printable planning checklist · What to bring to the funeral home

Need help making funeral arrangements?

Funeral directors at Buggs Funeral Home & Crematory can talk you through the first steps by phone, day or night.

Call (321) 728-7076 Get Directions

Buggs Funeral Home & Crematory · 2701 S Harbor City Blvd, Melbourne, FL 32901 · Featured funeral home partner

This guide is general information for Florida and is not legal or medical advice. Procedures vary by facility and circumstance. In an emergency, call 911.

The first 24 hours

Make the first call. Depending on the situation, that is 911, the hospice agency, or facility staff. See the guide above.
Choose a funeral home. The funeral home transfers your loved one into its care, files the death certificate and obtains the permits needed for burial or cremation. If there is a preneed contract, call the funeral home named in it.
Tell close family. Decide who will meet with the funeral home. Under Florida law the surviving spouse has first authority, followed by adult children and then other relatives (see the full order).
Secure the home and belongings. Lock the home if it will be empty, arrange care for pets, and keep valuables safe.

The next few days

Meet with the funeral director. This is the arrangement conference. You will choose burial or cremation, the type of service and merchandise. Ask for the General Price List; federal law requires the funeral home to give it to you. What to bring.
Look for written wishes. Check for a will, a preneed contract, a letter of instruction or a cemetery deed. A will is usually read after the funeral, but funeral wishes may be written in it.
Decide how many death certificates you need. The funeral home usually orders them. How many to order.
Write the obituary and share service details. Many funeral homes post obituaries online.
If the person served in the military, find the DD-214 discharge papers. They are needed for military honors and burial in a national cemetery. Veterans benefits.

Social Security: In most cases the funeral home reports the death to Social Security, so give the funeral director the person’s Social Security number. Social Security can pay a one-time $255 lump-sum death payment to a qualifying surviving spouse or child, and monthly survivors benefits may be available. You can reach Social Security at 1-800-772-1213.
Benefit payments: No Social Security payment is due for the month of death, even if the person died late in the month. Any payment received for that month or later must be returned; for direct deposits, ask the bank to return the funds.
Life insurance, pensions and employers: Each will need a certified death certificate and a claim form.
Banks, credit cards and utilities: Notify them once you have death certificates. Do not close joint accounts that others depend on until you understand the effect.
Probate: If the person owned property in their name alone, the estate may need to go through probate. In Brevard County, probate cases are filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Florida law requires anyone holding an original will to deposit it with the clerk within 10 days of learning of the death. Consider speaking with a Florida probate attorney.

Things that can wait

Families often feel they must settle everything at once. These usually do not need to happen in the first week: selling the home or car, sorting belongings, closing every account, choosing a headstone, and deciding what to do with cremated remains.